Let it Be, Ch 4
Let it Be Chapter 4 copyright 2014 comidacomida
Cory lost track of Rolis and Agatha as he ran back into the main portion of the shop. The buck was a blur of motion as he began gathering up his knives and razors, sticking them into the various pockets and clasps on his apron. If Baron Villamont had tracked him from the kingdom then the only possible reason would be to drag him back, and he couldn't let that happen. "They're here for me... just me."
Rolis spoke up, "Cory."
The tanner barely even registered his lover saying his name, continuing around the shop as he contemplated what would be most important and easiest for him to take when he fled. Tears began to fill his eyes as he thought of the danger he'd brought to his new family, "I-- I'm gonna go... they're here for me, so... so if I... if I go..."
It was Agatha's turn to call him, "Cory..."
The buck shook his head, grabbing a satchel full of brushes and contemplated a tub of chemicals... they'd be too heavy. He began to cry in earnest, agonizing about what was coming, "If I go, then you'll all be safe..."
"CORY!" both gators shouted in unison, and it finaly got the tanner to pause.
Rolas was seated next to the door, Agatha still next to him, pressing strips of fabric against his wounds as she alternated between washing them and trying to stop the bleeding. Despite the fact that none of the cuts appeared to be life threatening in and of themselves, Cory realized right away that Agatha wasn't having much success in bandaging them. He set down the bag of brushes and pulled out a curved leather needle, "That won't work... they're too deep... we need to close them."
Both gators looked his way and Rolis nodded, "Okay."
Cory approached, fingers trembling as he knelt down beside his injured lover, and began measuring out a length of thread, "I... I've never closed a wound before."
Agatha moved aside and took hold of her son's talon in her own, "It's flesh, Cory... just like working with leather." He could tell in her voice that she wasn't succeeding at being as confident as she was trying to be. Regardless, the buck took her advice to heart, and continued to repeat her words in his mind as he began his work.
Surprisingly, Cory found that she was right. Despite the fact that there was blood, closing Rolis' wounds was not unlike joining scaled hides. It had been some weeks since any of the local trappers came to him with giant lizard hide, but he had handled it often enough that he had a technique that ended up working out better than he had expected. He sat back once the three worst wounds were closed, "I... I think that's it."
Rolis spoke up, the first sound he made since Cory had started, "Thank you."
The buck's only response was to throw his arms around the alligator and bury his face in his scaled shoulder, not speaking until he regained enough of his composure to do so evenly, "What happened? How did they find you? How did they even know you had anything to do with me? How did you get out of there?"
Rolis just shrugged, apparently content to just answer the last question Cory had asked, "They're all dead."
Agatha calmly pulled the buck off of her son, "I can't believe you were actually thinking of running away, Cory."
Her chastising comment gave the tanner a moment's pause, but he was quick to defend his decision, "If they're Baron Villamont's soldiers then they're after me, Mom... I don't want anyone in this family to be put at risk."
The female gator put on her best matronly tone... and it was a GOOD matronly tone, "YOU are part of this family, young man... and if you think we're going to just hand you over to that horrible man then--"
Rolis growled, gingerly testing one his wounds and Cory's needlework there, "All he gets is my sword point."
Cory's mind began to trace back to the facts, and he simply shook his head, "I just... I can't figure out how the Baron even connected us... I mean--"
Rolis was quick to voice his opinion, and it emerged from his maw with a thick helping of scorn, "Heinyr"
Agatha was obviously not intent to sit around and conjecture; the alligator woman grabbed a scarf off its hook on the wall and quickly tied it about her head, "Rolis... stay here with Cory-- make sure he doesn't leave. I'm going to go find your father."
The buck was quick to speak up, "Mom, I--"
She opened the door, "No argument. Stay." It closed behind her.
Cory pulled up a chair next to Rolis, who reached out and gently took the buck's hand in his talon. "We'll be fine." the alligator said.
The tanner looked down at the still-bloody talon which had left a stark red stain on the buck's own fur, "There were a lot of them?" He looked to his lover, who simply nodded. Cory sighed, slowly letting go of Rolis' digits, "It just doesn't make any sense... why would Baron Villamont even CARE?"
Cory felt Rolis' eyes on him as he went to the kitchen to wash his hand, but the alligator didn't say a thing until the buck returned with a cloth and sat back down, "Evil doesn't need reasons... it's evil."
"Yea... as if it was ever that easy."
The tanner began using the cloth to clean Rolis' talons, carefully removing the blood from between his scales and wiping it away from his claws. Only once the buck was done did the alligator speak up again, "You're shaking."
It wasn't until after Rolis voiced his observation that Cory realized the alligator was right; the buck was shaking, and his words came out at a whisper, "I thought we were safe... I thought everything was getting better."
Rolis pulled the tanner into a firm embrace, "We are... it is."
Cory didn't object at the closeness and, as he laid his head down against the alligator's chest he did have to admit that he couldn't deny his lover's simple, straight forward response. The buck still felt helpless, and restless, and had questions that he realized couldn't be answered... but it was just a little easier accepting it with his lover so close at hand.
Although the sight of Rolis' torn leather breast plate had originally struck Cory with a sense of dread, once the ragged tears pressed up against the buck's chest, a newfound sense of purpose found him. Drawing away from the alligator, Cory was filled with determination, "Wait right there..." and he went straight to his leather working kit.
In all, it took Cory less than twenty minutes to patch up the armor; considering the fact that boiled leather was not the easiest thing to work with, sealing it back up was quite a feat. The buck checked his stitching and looked up at Rolis, who was gazing down at him while he had worked, "Not too bad..."
The gator was much more pragmatic about it, "It's fine."
Looking over the obvious 'scars' in the armor, Cory wasn't about to agree; it was a matter of pride, "I know... I know... it's fine for now, but when we get a chance I think I need to make you a new one. I'm a TANNER... I'm not about to let you go out on the streets with some ratty-looking--"
The discussion was cut short when the door to the shop opened. Rolis stood immediately and Cory quickly backed away, but they both relaxed immediately as Ackert and Agatha returned. The sour look on Ackert's scaled lips quickly reversed that relaxation in the buck as the gator addressed him, "What's this about you wanting to run off?"
Cory had trouble figuring out what to say, "I--"
Ackert ended up being willing to talk for him, "I know you are worried about us, Cory... but we're worried about you too. There is NO WAY we would be okay with you going off on your own. You're part of this family now."
The buck lowered his head, glancing to the side toward Rolis, and his recently sewn wounds, "I know... that's why I don't want any of you getting hurt."
Agatha shook her head, "If anything happened to you, sweetheart, we WOULD be hurting... you can't keep us safe by endangering yourself."
Ackert nodded resolutely, "Exactly... besides, the kingdom soldiers don't have any jurisdiction here in town."
"But... they attacked Rolis!"
"My meeting with Captain Privaed was cut short by a report about a fight in the marketplace..." the older gator glanced to the younger male, "Looks like you gave more than you got... good man, Rolis."
Cory fidgeted, "Which means they don't care whether they're allowed to come after me... they're gonna do it no matter wh--"
Agatha interrupted him, "Us, Cory... they're coming after US."
Ackert pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and took a seat, "The Captain's a good man... a wolf with quite a long family line of guardsmen. He won't oppose kingdom troops on small matters, but these are Villamont's men... not royal soldiers... so there's no way Privaed's letting him have his way in town."
Agatha slowly took a seat as well, choosing a chair next to her husband, "Which means all we have to do is wait for everything to blow over, and not make any rash decisions." she glanced to Cory,
"...Understood?
The buck nodded, "Yes, mom."
She looked to Rolis, "...Understood?" The alligator nodded.
Ackert folded his talons on the table, "Good. Now that we have an understanding, we'll need to think about--"
The gator's comment was interrupted by the sound of a knock at the shop's door. It sounded a second time, followed by a hail, "Tanner?"
Rolis growled quietly, "Heinyr..."
Agatha waved a talon to shush her son, then slowly moved to the door and cleared her throat before speaking through it, "I'm sorry, sir, but the tanner is out at the moment... very important meeting with the cattlemen... he is not expected back until late."
Silence prevailed outside for several long moments until a weigh pressed up against the door, and Cory heard the alchemist's voice, though just barely, "I know the identity of the tanner, my lady... and that of your husband."
Rolis slowly stood, his sword making barely a sound as he drew it carefully from its scabbard, but Ackert held up a talon, stopping his son. The older gator spoke up, keeping his voice low, "What do you want, Heinyr?"
The jackal's voice remained quiet, still speaking through the door, "I've come to help.... though I am worried my continued conference with a shut door may arouse suspicions out here on the street... may I enter?"
Ackert's talon went to the door handle, "Are you armed?"
"I am, yes."
Rolis and Cory exchanged glances, the buck speaking in a quiet voice, "At least he's honest, I guess."
The jackal shifted his weight slightly against the dooragain , "I am a scholar, Captain Ackert... do you truly believe I am a threat to you or your--"
Ackert interrupted Heinyr by opening the door. The jackal fell into the entry way and the alligator stared down at him, "I'm not a captain anymore."
The alchemist slowly stood up, pointedly keeping his paws within obvious view, "Then I would owe you an apology-- it wasn't my intent to offend."
Rolis' scowl deepened, "Then apologize."
Agatha forstalled any further harsh commentary by asking a very direct question, "Why are you here?"
The jackal glanced to the female alligator, then to Ackert, then, finally, Cory, "There are kingdom soldiers all over town looking for you, tanner."
Rolis snorted, "We know. I killed three."
The jackal brushed some of the dust from the floor off of his leggings, "You were in front of my shop-- I had noticed. Nasty business, that."
Cory stepped between Rolis and Heinyr, "Why help us?"
The alchemist put on the smile the buck recognized as his 'business face', "You pay up front, you have always been fair in your business deals, and you are likely my only patron who does not suggest that my scales are off."
Rolis folded his arms over his chest behind Cory, "They are."
Ackert took control of the conversation once again, "If there are kingdom soldiers in town you are putting yourself at no small around of risk to bring us news."
Heinyr's smile never left him, "The tanner is my best customer... have you any idea how valuable an honest, appreciative, professional leather worker is to one of my profession?"
Ackert remained standing where he was, "Apparently not."
The jackal continued, unabated, "These soldiers... they're not the king's--"
Cory spoke up, "They're Baron Villamont's... we know."
Heinyr nodded vigorously, "Yes... right... and that means they are not here with the king's blessing... so--"
Ackert finished the thought for the jackal, "They're limited on time."
The alchemist looked from Ackert to Cory, "They know your family's trade, tanner... it is only a matter of time before they come here... but I know a place you'll be safe."
Rolis growled, "Bullshit."
Heinyr continued unabated, "Baron Villamont is after YOU, tanner. Please do not cost me my best customer."
Cory looked around to Agatha, then Ackert, and, finally, Rolis; the sisters were still upstairs, "They attacked Rolis on the street..."
The alchemist shook his head, "It looked like they were just going to question him... so he sent his sisters off and attacked THEM."
Rolis growled, "You lie."
Ackert snapped the figers on his talon forcefully, regaining everyone's attention, "Assume for a moment that we DO trust you, Heinyr... where do you plan to take us?"
The jackal's smile widened, showing his pointed teeth, "A man of my profession sometimes requires some place out of the way and safe from prying eyes. Not all of the items I use in my craft are considered wholly legitimate by authorities, and so--"
Ackert raised an eye ridge, "A smuggler's den."
The jackal's smile became much more reserved and his large, erect ears fell slightly, "I would not PERSONALLY use such a title for it... but if it keeps our good friend the tanner safe..."
The older male gator leveled his gaze at the alchemist, "You're taking all of us."
Heinyr paused, then looked around at everyone in the room, "Do you mean, 'all of us' as in, everyone in this room... or--" he glanced up at the ceiling, obviously indicating the females upstairs.
Agatha shook her head, "That would be too large a party. I'll stay here with the girls... we have no reason to concern ourselves with them because they have no reason to bother with us."
The jackal nodded, "Very sensible... yes... I believe two gators and a buck would be far easier to guide than an entire... hmm... what DOES one call a grouping of alligators anyway? A flock? A pod? Certainly not a 'gaggle'..."
Ackert cracked the front door open and gazed out of it, motioning for Rolis. The younger gator moved obediently to his side, and Cory did as well once he was summoned. "You go first, Heinyr... we'll follow you at a distance."
The alchemist paused, his good cheer and friendly banter disappearing, "Of course... of course... just make certain you follow."
Ackert nodded as the jackal passed him, "We will."
Heinyr went out into the street, composed and collected, as if nothing were amiss. He turned back to the door, tipped his muzzle as if offering a farewell, and moved off down the street at a very casual stroll. Cory took a deep breath and, at Ackert's signal, slipped out into the street and followed after.